Camper Dies In 70-Foot Fall At Pictured Rocks

MUNISING TWP. (WWJ/AP) – Authorities say a 24-year-old man was fatally injured when he fell 70 feet while camping near a waterfall in the Upper Peninsula’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

U.S. Parks Service Ranger Bill Smith says that Franklin C. Sade and another man were camping close to the top of Miners Falls. Smith told The Daily News of Iron Mountain that Sade was collecting firewood when he fell around 2:30 a.m. Monday.

Sade, who lived in the Iron Mountain-area community of Norway, was transported to Munising Memorial Hospital, where he died.

The site is near Lake Superior in Alger County’s Munising Township, about 40 miles east of Marquette. Smith said the terrain is steep and rough, and rocky surfaces were covered with ice. He also said there are no established campsites in or around the Miners Falls area

Police believe alcohol may have been a factor in the incident, which remains under investigation. An autopsy is planned.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is known by many as one of Michigan’s most beautiful locations and is a popular vacation spot among metro Detroiters. Located along the Lake Superior shoreline, the park features miles of pristine beaches and nationally recognized mosaic sandstone cliffs.